Iraqi Deputy PM and FM Fuad Hussein in Washington Today
“We will hold a series of bilateral meetings to strengthen Iraqi-American relations and coordinate efforts on regional and international issues,” Hussein wrote.
WASHINGTON DC, United States (Kurdistan 24) Iraq’s Foreign Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Fuad Hussein is in Washington, and he will meet later today with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
Hussein became Iraqi Foreign Minister in 2020, after two years as Finance Minister. A Kurd, Hussein was the long-time Chief of Staff to Masoud Barzani, President of the Kurdistan Region, until his retirement from that position in 2017.
Hussein was most recently in Washington in March 2024, in the last year of the Biden administration, to prepare for the first visit to Washington of Iraq’s then newly-elected prime minister, Mohammed Shi’a al-Sudani.
The purpose of Hussein’s current visit is less clear, but it comes as the Trump administration has held a series of high-level meetings and discussions with its Middle Eastern allies.
Indeed, one of those first exchanges was a phone call between Rubio and Sudani in late February. Their discussion appeared to have been quite friendly, while they agreed on the need to resume Kurdish oil exports through the Iraq-Turkish pipeline, even as that has yet to happen.
Read More: Rubio, Sudani Agree on Resumption of Kurdish Oil Exports in Cordial Exchange
Other meetings and phone calls between Washington and its allies in the Middle East followed.
Read More: US Holds Series of Meetings with Arab Allies Ahead of Meeting with Iranians
They include an April 11 telephone conversation between Rubio and Masrour Barzani, Prime Minister of Iraq’s Kurdistan Region.
Read More: PM Barzani and United States Reaffirm Strategic Ties
The next day, Sudani paid a rare visit to Erbil. In the meeting between the Kurdish and Iraqi prime ministers, almost certainly, Barzani’s exchange with Rubio was among the issues they discussed.
Read More: Al-Sudani in Erbil: Iraq Has Withstood Crises, Now Focused on Stability and Economic Growth
Issues on the Agenda between the U.S. and Iraq
Asked at a press briefing yesterday about Hussein’s visit to Washington, State Department Spokesperson Tammy Bruce confirmed that he “will be here at the State Department tomorrow for various meetings,” and “I will be in one of those meetings.”
But “as far as to the specifics of what will happen, I have nothing to preview for you at this time,” she added.
However, in a post to X, Hussein provided a bit more information.
“We will hold a series of bilateral meetings to strengthen Iraqi-American relations and coordinate efforts on regional and international issues,” Hussein wrote. “We will also discuss ways to enhance mutual security and cooperation in various fields.”
Presumably, that will include Syria and Iran, as well as the status of the campaign against ISIS. In addition, it will be quite interesting to see if there is any significant progress in resuming Kurdish oil exports.
